THE LIVING EXPERIENCE

There comes a time for all of us to make decisions on how to shape or better our existence. To find an antidote to the pressures of a current life style, a new challenge, a new perspective…

It may be a school leaver deciding on a career; it may be an adult wanting more out of life than just the daily work routine and personal responsibilities; it may be a couple wanting to enjoy a common hobby or an individual seeking a new vocation … the spectrum is vast.

What most of us are striving for is essentially to find a sense of achievement in preserving the values we love, enjoy and care for, and passing them on as part of our personal legacy.

The South African wilderness must surely rank high on this list. The ravages of uncontrolled industrial and agricultural development are threatening our beautiful land. How can we as an individual prevent this? Caring is more than often not enough; we have to understand the realities and complexities of our fragile environment and the many facets that govern it. Where do we start?

Bushveld Training Adventures, a nationally recognized academic institution in the field of nature studies, offers a comprehensive range of professional field guiding and environmentalist courses. Whether it is a career in field guiding in order to obtain the FGASA (Field Guides Association of Southern Africa) and national qualifications, or a wonderful learning experience, the opportunity to make great friends, are all great reasons to enrol in a BTA guide or environmentalist course.

The courses are a fantastic experience. Not only do they comprise lectures with highly qualified instructors, but also field outings where the classroom is the open bush and textbooks turn into life animals, plants, rocks, clouds and the whole universe. Each one of these challenges you with questions: Who am I, how did I get here, why am I here, what threatens my existence? Each one of them becomes a testimony to the story of the evolutionary processes of our planet. The evenings by the campfire shared with kindred spirits are the memories that embroider the fabric of our lives… and the mornings hold the promise of a new adventure.

A question coming up in your mind might be… can I afford it – money or time wise? BUSHVELD TRAINING ADVENTURES tries to make the courses as affordable as possible in order to bring it in reach of all South Africans. They also offer maximum flexibility to cater for all levels of disposable time.

Courses to choose from are Full-time Field Guide and Environmentalist Courses, which qualify the student to meet different accreditation levels of FGASA. The part-time year course combines evening lectures with practical fieldwork and weekends away followed by written assignments and tests. The course comprises different modules covering subjects such as Animal, Plant, Earth and Eco Studies, Taxonomy, Veld Interpretation and First Aid. For those who may not have the time to attend a course in person at all, BTA also offers a Correspondence Course. In addition, BTA conducts Trails Guide and Special Interest courses, specialist Bird courses and Rifle Handling courses….There really is an amazing choice!

“If a sense of the sacred is included in the definition of religion, then …ecological intelligence is religious, for it looks at the sacred in things… It is therefore crucial that we understand that the threat to the existence of wild nature is also a threat to the central spiritual value of any people’s lives…”Dr Ian McCallum, “Ecological Intelligence”